The mediators are available and ready to travel from Washington to the Times Square Westin, but the NHL has not approved their involvement—nor is their involvement mandatory for more talks, according to multiple reports.

At the time, NHLPA executive directors Donald Fehr implied that they could return later in the process. Fehr and commissioner Gary Bettman were not in the room for the last two days of meetings, opting instead to directly, involve more owners and players, but they returned on Wednesday.

A potentially negative sign: owners Larry Tanenbaum of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mark Chipman of the Winnipeg Jets have left New York though, as noted by Yahoo! Sports' Nick Cotsonika, that could be because of prior engagements.

Key owners who remain in on negotiations: Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins, who is a labor hardliner and breakout villain, at least in the public eye; and Ron Burkle of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who is widely believed to be seeking a deal and working in concert with captain Sidney Crosby and co-owner Mario Lemieux to help the sides find common ground.

Before Thursday's talks began, the latest, most important move was a revised offer from the league to the players, after a day spent trading proposals.

According to multiple reports, owners offered players $300 million in so-called "make-whole" or transitional payments. Their previous offer was $211 million; the players' previous request was $393 million.

The proposal also included a 10-year term with an opt out after eight seasons, which is longer than the league's previous offers and, theoretically, would seem to benefit the players—based on precedent, owners will seek to drop the players' share whenever the time comes to negotiate the next CBA.

Also part of the league's proposal: unaltered rules on free agency (they would been attempting to change arbitration guidelines and raise the minimum age from 27); capping salary variances at 5 percent as a means of eliminating back-diving, cap-circumventing contracts; and a five-year limit on contracts for unrestricted free agents and seven-year limit for teams retaining their players.